Forja Solarii
Summary The Forja Solarii, Forge of the Sun, was an ancient dwarven forge, now in ruins. For a thousand years, it was a center of learning and craft on the continent of Pintara; where dwarves, fey, and men made priceless objects and magic-imbued tools. History The Forja was a glittering jewel in the crown of the Overmountain Kingdom (the greatest empire of the dwarves). The dwarves mined prolifically, finding emeralds and rubies in abundance. Its forges and factorums were run using condensed solar light from mirrors and crystalline tubes. Legends even speak of dwarves cutting metal with light. At the apex of the dwarven empire, the Forja welcomed all races of men and fey. All faiths were respected; and all inquiry was encouraged. The elvish kingdoms of northern and southern Pintara had no fear of the dwarves, because they cut no tree to fuel their forges. The early tribes of Men as well, could learn in peace. But the Jeweled Age was not to last. Man and Elf were soon to come to war. As Cetemar became engulfed in the War of the Children, the Jade Gate was sealed, marking the end of the Jeweled Age. Present Day How the Forge fell is uncertain. A third of the known galleries are collapsed. Another third have been ripped open, exposed to the sky. The remaining third, the deepest delves, have yet to be explored. The Forja Solarii lives on as a territory of the Pintari Mageocracy. The Solarii is very large, containing two distinct regions, with differing levels of Mage influence. Kanal Region; South (of the) Forge The Kanal Region is populated by over 200,000 half-dwarven slaves and their families. The region is intersected by hundreds of small watercourses, locks, dams, canals, and lakes. It was the work of hundreds of years of dwarven engineering and, despite its crumbling condition, helps to produce most of the rice eaten in the Mageocracy. The vast majority of the population of the Kanal is in thrall to various mage houses. Most slaves or "stock," in Pintari terms have a series of mage-tattoos that mark possession and force compliance. These slaves are called "Mark Stock," or "Stockmark." The tattoos create a docile population. Half-dwarves are preferred, combining strong endurance for heavy labor with height and mobility. However, due to the sorcery, the Stockmarkk show little initiative, and are prone to accidents and drowning. Pintari mages are left in constant need of replacement labor. Wastes Region; North (of the) Forge The Wastes Region includes the forge ruin and all land to its north. It is all inhospitable wasteland, populated by monsters. There is one fouled lake as well, the Loche Rudde. The few peoples of the Wastes Region are free of mage-tattooing. They need to be free-thinking and flexible to adapt to numerous threats. Most are mercenaries or "mote-miners." They carry writs or badges to mark which mage house has hired them. * Mercenaries include bugbears, orkik, humans, and ogri warriors. They serve as border guards and occasional slavers on the side. They are stationed in cantons on the western edge of the Wastes. * Mote-Miners hunt for ores, trinkets, any item holding a residue (or "mote") of magic from a long-lost era. Primarily of gnomish stock, the Mote-Miners have a native sense for magic, as well as many tools--and a resistance to spells that go off. They usually work alone, centered on the old forge galleries, but may be seen digging along dried canals leading to the Rudde. Location The Forja Solarii territory is located on the Prael Peninsula in central Pintara. It borders the Mar al Solarii on the east, and the Ocea Guerra to the west, and the Islas Dei Igni. To the north are the Ou al Nascut, and pirate colonies. To the south are the Praelborn Lands and the Mageocracy itself. Estimated Population Kanal Region: 217,011 The Kanal Region is precisely counted; with every slave marked and checked each day. Wastes Region: ~10,000 The Wastes are far less accurately censused. Of the 10,000 half reside in Porta Magos. There are 1,000 mercenaries, 2,000 mote-miners with papers. The remaining 2,000 may be illegal miners or escaped slaves. Known Towns Porta Magos; 5,000 "Mage-Port," is the westernmost port in the Pintari Empire. It holds 25 ships of the emergent Oest Navis, the Pintari's western fleet, as well as 50 more civilian berths. Expanded only 50 years ago, the city is a compromise. It is heavily defensed on the ocean side, to repel raids from the Cete Guerra. There are 10 defensive towers constructed west of the city, each manned by a watch-mage. The towers are made to disrupt Cete attacks, with chain, mines, and underwater ballistae. The city has a standing ward of 100 Pintari marines, with a cabal of 20 more war-mages. On its landward side, the Porta Magos is much more open. In the eastern city there is a merchant quarter, with lodgings for the mages and their servants. Beyond a low rampart, the city extends outwards to the Mote-Camps, a ramshackle development of bars, "courting" inns, and their client miners. There is a constant tension in Porta Magos between the naval forces, bent on security, and the merchants, bent on making a profit. Allies Forja Solarii is under the protection of the Pintari Empire. The Praelborn Lands keep up a wary alliance. There is an illicit trade of goods and men between the two territories. The Orku Igni have a trade alliance with the Forja Solarii. Foes The Ou Al Nascut drive off any wayward Solarii mercenaries or miners from their lands. Kostur Pirati orks occasionally raid into the Wastes to capture (then re-sell) slaves to the Pintari Mages. Characters Magister Tlolloc, Warden of the Wastes, Mayor of Porta Magos Magister Tlolloc commands the northern half of the Solarii territory. He is a fat, heavily tattooed mage, who sells the mining warrants for the region. He is rich with bribes from other mage families, who want to keep the magic found in the old forges to themselves. Magister Xenophon, Warden of the Kanal Magister Xenophon commands the southern Kanal region of the Solarii territory; ruling all the slaves and foremen of the farms. The Magister is a lean woman, with black, graying hair, cut in the war-mage fashion. She is hard-bitten, heavily tattooed as well. But her tattoos, unlike Tlolloc's, are Warmarks and Thrallsygils--not marks of prestige. The Magister was exiled from the capitol for her violent tendencies (which is saying something for the notoriously brutal Pintari) She considers her post an insult and a waste of her talents; sometimes taking out her annoyance on underlings. Cripus Ratter, Gnomic Mote-miner Cripus is a gnome, possibly 100 years old. He has one of the oldest mining warrants, and has been digging in Solarii for magic motes for decades. He is said to have the best maps of the forge, both on parchment and in his memory. Cripus does bear the scars of his work. Various curses, spells, and cantrips erupt from (or upon) him. He can occasionally be struck blind; at other times, suddenly levitate; and occasionally he will burp a small fireball. Cripus doesn't mind, calling his condition "shedding." Baalkarg the Small, Half-ogre mercenary Baalkarg the Small, is a massive warrior, who serves on the western edge of the Pintari Empire. He looks little like his human parent, shaped like a brick, with treelike arms that drag when he walks. His war hammer weighs more than most men. But Baalkarg is a gentle soul, more given to poetry than wanton slaughter. For the price of a good story he might let you live. Comments "I use pet rats to check most of my finds. Sometimes nothing happens. Sometimes they turn into a cow. Sometimes they blow up in a red mist. But that's mote-mining: never know what magic you got." --Babble, Gnomic mote-miner "The Stockmark'd are dumb as cows. The magic is too heavy on them. We lose 20 a week just to falling in the canals. We need more foremen to keep an eye on them." --Anonymous Pintari Factor, (complaining about the loss of slaves in the Kanal zone) "The Oest Navis want this port for war. I want this port for wealth." --Magister Tlolloc, Warden of the Wastes, Mayor of Porta MagosCategory:Cultures